Patrons and lovers of literature will wax lyrical about the vivid imagery and emotive prose of the classics, the way in which the interplay between characters and events elicits a powerful emotional response in the heart and mind of the reader. It’s for this reason that, when confronted with a temporal or emotional void, people will reach for a book.
In the same way, there’s something indefinably uplifting about a Dr Dog record. The melodies, the harmonies, the sense of excitement and happiness that makes you realise that music is genuinely good for the soul. And so it is again with Dr Dog’s latest record, Be The Void. Lonesome is the kind of track that makes you yearn for the romantic musical pleasures of a front porch and a bunch of good ol’ boys; That Old Black Hole and Over Here, Over There yank you onto the dance floor to shake your ass off. These Days is out on the highway, wind in your hair, with ne’er a care in the world; How Long Must I Wait is David Sylvian on a journey from Nashville to Los Angeles, making hay while the sun tries to break through.
Get Away treads in the well-worn path of the Californian singer-songwriter making beauty from emotional disparity, Do The Trick is Talking Heads doing a residency at the Troubadour, Vampire is rife for passionate embrace in a swelling moment of tenderness and Heavy Light is the Beach Boys with a shot of southern charm and spark. Big Girl is laden with the brilliance of The Band, spliced with some Exile-quality Keef riffs, Warrior Man marries The Kinks oddball English humour with Kubrickian psychedelic space rock and comes out swinging and Turning the Century is back on the porch, channelling the oft-overlooked importance of George Harrison.
Be The Void isn’t going to alleviate the increasing prevalence of psychological disruption in modern society. But it’s surely a step in the right direction.
BY PATRICK EMERY
Best Track: Over There, Over Here
If You Like This, You’ll Like These: THE BAND, DRIVE BY TRUCKERS
In A Word: Uplifting
